Fortunately, we were able to find the first aid station this time. This, however, was a small, cramped room that required me to lift the chair to navigate into the bathroom. This pre-ADA building was definitely not wheelchair friendly and it was apparent no care had been taken to make the most of what they had. Going to the bathroom is a basic human need and the customers at this arena should be able to do so without losing their dignity.
EPILOGUE: The following day we took two of my daughters to see "Stop Making Sense" at the AMC Dine-In Theater at the Westfield Topanga in Woodland Hills. The theater entrance is on the third floor and is only served by one public elevator. It was out of order.
With Nicole unable to navigate the escalator safely, I had to hunt down a staff member to find out what we could do as the elevator had no signage. The solution was the freight elevator that was behind locked doors. According to the AMC staffer, the elevator had been broken for several days and mall security had refused to offer any temporary solutions until the problem was fixed. This is very disappointing for a building that was just renovated.
Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
